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PUBLIC opinion on what is the best bypass option for Coffs Harbour is almost as divided as the last major North Coast city which has the Pacific Highway bisecting it.

In Saturday's Advocate local MP Andrew Fraser said he was in favour of a western bypass because the RMS-preferred inner bypass would condemn the city to becoming an amphitheatre for truck noise.

More Advocate readers agreed with him than didn't.

An online poll found only 40% of 95 respondents preferred the inner bypass which sweeps inland from Coffs South and skirts around the base of the mountains to reconnect with the highway at Korora.

It would have interchanges at England's Rd, Coramba Rd and Korora Hill.

Waiting and agitating for a western bypass had the support of 61% of online voters.

Here's want some of our readers had to say on the subject.

There is only one solution: the western bypass. We moved to Emerald Heights 13 years ago and the increase in traffic and noise since the B Doubles were allowed on the Pacific Highway is unbelievable. - Evelin Korner

The inner city bypass is impractical and will cause long-term problems. - Bronwen Myall

The government should not proceed with the inner bypass. As traffic increases, the noise needs to be taken away from Coffs Harbour residents by a western bypass. - Leone Woodcock

The inner route is not even a bypass, it's just a diversion through a different part of town with the added bonus that it will disturb even more residential properties. The inner route is a typical example of government bodies wasting millions to come up with a hopeless scheme, then asking the public what they would prefer. When the inevitable answer comes back that it is a useless idea the public are told too bad, the decision has been made. - Andrew Wilson

Andrew I don't understand. How do you propose to link with the rest of the upgraded Pacific Highway? And what's this rubbish about truck noise? It'll be no worse than those suburbs north of town that the super highway runs through already. Enough mucking around - let's get on with it, otherwise we'll be condemned to another couple of decades of Christmas traffic jams and pollution in Coffs Harbour. - Rod McKelvey

I couldn't agree more Rod. Any bypass is better than no bypass and the city desperately needs one before it gets strangled to death by noise, fumes and impatient drivers. Come on Andrew, grab O'Farrell around the throat and choke a big fat cheque out of him. - bruiser (Toormina)